English Teacher Resume—Samples & 25+ Writing Tips

Ready for a new teaching challenge, but feel stuck like Macbeth’s “Amen” in the throat when writing your new English teacher resume?

You know you have the right experience and skills to get those kids hyped about grammar and reading.

But how to show that on your resume?

Fear no more, for we’ve got you covered!

Let’s move on to the chalk talk, so you can brush up on your resume-writing skills.

In this guide:

• An English teacher resume that gets jobs.
• How to ace your English teacher resume formatting, so it looks professional.
• The do’s and dont’s of writing an English teacher job description.
• Which teacher skills are most sought after in the education field.

Save hours of work and get a job-winning resume like this. Try our resume builder with 20+ resume templates and create your resume now.

Create your resume now

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOW

What users say about ResumeLab:

I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your resume.”
Patrick

I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!
Dylan 

My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
George

Create your resume now

Looking for different education-related resume samples? Check these out:

• Academic CV Sample
• Teacher Resume Sample
• Art Teacher Resume Sample
• Child Care Resume Sample
• College Application Resume for High School Students Sample
• Instructional Designer Resume Sample
• Preschool Teacher Resume Sample
• Substitute Teacher Resume Sample
• School Counselor Resume Sample
• ESL Teacher Resume Sample
• Education Resume Sample
• Librarian Resume Sample
• High School Teacher Resume Sample
• Research Assistant Resume Sample
• Teaching Assistant Resume Sample
• Camp Counselor Resume Sample
• First Year Teacher Resume Sample
• Elementary Teacher Resume Sample
• Special Education Teacher Resume Sample
• Tutor Resume Sample
• Nanny Resume Sample
• Babysitter Resume Sample
• High School Resume Sample
• Technical Writer Resume Sample
• Best Resume Samples for All Jobs

Ready to write your own English teacher resume? 

First, let’s take a look at an example:

English Teacher Resume Sample

Wondering how to build a resume that’s this good?

Here are the ABC’s of writing an English teacher resume that gets jobs:

1. Use the Best English Teacher Resume Format

Imagine getting a term paper from a student… It’s on-point, it creates interest and establishes relevance. 

Brilliant.

But wait—

It’s also sloppy and illegible.

Would that affect the final grade?

The same goes for job applications. 

A well-formatted English teacher resume is tangible evidence of your organizational skills and attention to detail. 

So the first item on the resume-writing syllabus is:

Getting that resume layout right! 

Follow these bullet points to make your resume format flawless.

Resume Format for English Teacher

• Use the reverse-chronological resume format.
• Organize your resume using the following resume sections: Heading, Summary / Objective, Work History, Education, Skills, Additional Information.
• Pick a clean and readable resume font, like 10-14pt Arial or Helvetica.
• The length of your resume should be about 1 page, unless you have extensive experience.
• Set 1 inch resume margins, and use white space for readability.
• Make sure to use a simple resume template that will make your application ATS-friendly.
• Send your resume as a PDF file attachment, unless the job posting states otherwise.If so, see our list of the best Word resume templates. 

Basically, your resume style is like a writing style—it reflects a great deal about you.

2. Start With a Compelling English Teacher Resume Summary or Objective

There’s nothing quite like reading the first chapter of a book and realizing it’s going to be a 5-star rating.

The introduction, the prelude, the first act, the prologue… they’re all meant to enthrall the reader to the story. 

A good resume summary should do the same. 

Introduce yourself and show off your most notable accomplishments. 

This should hook the recruiters to your resume and make them want to read on!

Use:

1. 1-2 powerful resume adjectives, like: passionate, attentive, methodical, inspired, creative
2. “English teacher”
3. Years of experience (2+, 4+)
4. What your expertise is (delivering academic knowledge in the field of English language and literature to 7th and 8th grade students)
5. Your key achievement as an English teacher (Managed to increase overall English SAT scores by 23%)

These resume profile examples should help you ace yours:

Middle School English Teacher Resume Sample—Resume Summary

Methodical and inspired English teacher with 4+ years of experience delivering academic knowledge in the field of English language and literature to 7th and 8th grade students. Created a supportive, rigorous high school preparatory program for over 100 teenagers. Prepared lesson plans for 15 classes a week to accommodate students with different learning styles. Managed to increase overall English SAT scores by 23%.

Hello, my name is Kate, and I am an English teacher with experience teaching middle school students. I have been responsible for preparing lesson plans by following the curriculum guidelines and accommodating teaching methods. I am ready for a new challenge and a full-time opportunity.

Ouch.

The seconds example gets a big fat F. 

It’s vague, doesn’t show any accomplishments and let’s be honest—it sounds like it’s been written by a 3-year-old. 

Now on the other hand, the good example has everything: the potent adjective, the numbers, the personality.

Quantifiable resume achievements convey impact and simply win the attention of principals. So show them how big were your previous classes or how you helped decrease student fail rates. 

New to teaching? 

If you lack experience, write a resume objective that shows your goals and passion.

Take a look at these examples taken from resumes with no experience:

High School English Teacher Resume Sample—Resume Objective

Dedicated and creative English graduate and newly certified teacher with a BA from the University of Illinois seeking a role as a high school English teacher at McLean High School. Ready to apply my creativity and understanding of lesson planning, classroom management to work with students. As a student teacher, I have assisted with a class of 27 high schoolers, where I helped decrease classroom failure rate by 23% by implementing a new performance improvement plan.

Newly certified English teacher seeking a first full-time position at your high school. Proven history of successful work with teenagers.

Even if you don’t have mind-blowing experience, you can still make the best out of your entry-level resume by simply using numbers to highlight your accomplishments. 

Worked with a big class? Great. Put the number of students you worked with in your objective. Cooperated with colleagues to develop writing curriculum that increased state test passing rate from 65% to 80%? Put that on there, too. 

You can quantify almost any achievement.

3. Create the Perfect English Teacher Resume Job Description and Skills Section

If your professional summary is the exposition, your resume job description section is your inciting incident. 

This is the part that you can tweak to make it match the job advertisement.

Follow these simple steps to target your resume:

1. Analyze the job posting.
2. Cherry-pick the English teacher skills the employer is looking for.
3. Craft your English teacher resume job description by using the identified keywords.

So for example—

The school is looking for these skills: (1) mentoring, (2) creating lesson plans, (3) tutoring.

Here’s a real-life example of how to incorporate these phrases into your work history section:

Experience 

English Teacher

Brockton North Middle School

August 2018-June 2020

• Created practical and enjoyable lesson plans for students; engaging 30+ students in each class.
• Collaborated with 2 other teachers and Library to launch a successful Contemporary Literature Book Club.
• Won The 90-Second Newberry Film Festival in 2019 with my class.

Notable achievement: Incorporated engaging teaching methods and resources that resulted in a 23% increase in school SAT scores.

English Teacher

Edgar B. Davis School

August 2016-June 2018

• Responsible for creating, implementing, and assessing program components that met the needs of 6 classes of 20+ students.
• Evaluated and graded class work, assignments, and papers; identified students’ educational needs and advised on academic growth and success.
• Managed and mentored a homeroom class of 34 students.

Notable achievement: Provided support as an exam coach and extension and support tutor, which resulted in 7% pass rate.

Full-time English Teacher at Brockton North

• 2 years 
• Taught grammar, writing, and English skills to students.
• Developed lesson plans in accordance with the curriculum.
• Graded papers and made reports.
• Worked with colleagues and parents.

The first example has the potential to land on the golden honor roll.

It’s concise and detailed, meets all the job requirements and has all the required information. 

To make it stick, here’s a cheat-sheet of what to include when writing a resume job description:

• Job title
• School Name, City, State
• Dates Employed
• Key Responsibilities
• Key Achievements
• Keywords

Also, use 3-4 bullet points to highlight your most important accomplishments and separate your job responsibilities. 

If you want to list promotions or multiple positions in one institution, stack your job titles in the reverse chronological order just below the dates of employment. 

Now that you have showed off your work experience, it’s time for the fun part: choosing the skills to put on a resume.

English Teacher Resume Skills

Expert Hint: Research shows that English teachers may need various skills, (even in science and technology), which is why it’s important to show that you are skilled in many areas. 

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOW

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOW

Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.

4. Highlight Your Education Section

Teacher? Without education?

Sounds like an oxymoron. 

Don’t leave out the education section on your resume and make it the reason to hire you. 

Let’s brainstorm together and see how to list education on your resumeto get that golden star.

First, let’s take a look at a resume sample.

English Teacher Resume Examples—Education

Education

Master of Science in Secondary Education

The University at Albany

2017

Teaching Licensure

Boston University

2016

Bachelor of English

Boston University

2015

• GPA: 4.0
• Dean’s list
• Awarded The Loren Gruber Scholarship

Here’s how to create an outstanding education section:

• Like the experience section, put your most recent degrees at the top.
• Make sure to include the name of the university or college, its location, and your graduation year.
• You can add relevant coursework to your resume, but you don’t have to. It’s a great way to show the recruiter that you are skilled in a specific area.
• Adding awards, scholarships and other academic achievements to your resume can improve your qualifications.

Expert Hint: Each state has different requirements for becoming a certified teacher, so make sure to find out what is required of you. Studies show that certified teachers earn more on average than their non-certified counterparts.

5. Add an “Additional Information” Section to Brighten Up Your Resume

Extra credit?

Yes, please!

Your “Extras” section is your opportunity to show off your personality and set yourself apart. 

Yeah, cooking and e-sports are both great hobbies, but make sure to include one or two relevant activities on your resume that prove you live and breathe education. 

Here’s some inspiration:

• Certifications (National Board Certification, State-Approved Teaching Certificate Program, State Educator Certification, etc.)
• Organization membership (Association for Experiential Education, Association of American Educators, etc)
• Volunteer work
• Publications 
• Projects you’ve worked on
• Conferences
• Foreign languages

Expert Hint:Write a cover letter to back up your resume and to give the employer a better sense of you as a person.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

Key Points

Follow these tips to write an English teacher resume that gets jobs:

• Format your resume properly using 1-inch margins, the right font size and style. Make sure your resume fits on one page and that you save your document as a PDF file.
• Layout your job description and education sections in reverse chronological order, by putting your most recent experiences at the top.
• Tailor your resume using keywords from the job advertisement to help it pass the ATS scan and to emphasize your qualifications.
• Include an English teacher cover letter to up your chances of getting an interview.

About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process

At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.